THE Lower House is being asked to investigate a report from the Commission on Audit (COA) regarding billions of pesos of unused funds under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, or Bayanihan 2.
In House Resolution 2519 by the Bayan Muna partylist, it urged the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability to conduct an investigation in aid of legislation.
The resolution said that on March 2, 2022, the OCA released a report stating that around P4.99 billion in funds remained unused as of June 30, 2021.
The state auditor said the amount is more than half of the fund allotted for loan distribution to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) under Bayanihan 2, that could have been used for pandemic response.
The COA report adds that the Small Business Corp. (SB Corp.), a state-run company under the Department of Trade and Industry, was allotted P9.08 billion through the COVID-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises or CARES Program for the granting of collateral-free, zero-interest loans to MSMEs.
However, the COA report stated that SB Corp. only released P4.09 billion, or 45.04 percent of the P9.08 billion, as of June 30, 2021.
Two reasons were cited by the COA why there were unused funds. One, the lack of human resources at SB Corp., and the possible hesitancy of potential clients to avail of the financial assistance.
But the resolution reiterates that because of the pandemic, the economic crisis in the country got worse, brought hardships to Filipinos, and many businesses closed shop, including that of the MSMEs.
The funds should be distributed in the proper time and in the most efficient way to effectively respond to the pandemic and to help those affected by it.